A Few Words about Mom

 My Mom was born August 19, 1929. She passed away, surround by loved ones, February 5th, 2023. The following is a brief tribute to her. I love you Mom, and I miss you so very much. I am and will always be your baby boy. 

To most of us a eulogy is a summation of a life whose journey has ended.  This is instead a story of the journey so far.  Mary was no stranger to journeys because she was constantly on one. 

Mary was born in New York in Queens Village to a large family, two sisters, Claire and Ethel and four brothers: Bill, Tommy, George and Charlie. A big family with a strong Catholic bond. She attended school locally and graduated with an Honors in Chemistry. She went on to both Secretarial College and Fordham University. After college, she went to work in Manhattan for the famous ad agency McCann-Erikson, living with her good friend Bernie, young and single.

In time, she received an offer to go overseas to work for the United States government, and wisely choose Austria over Saudi Arabia. No big thing today, but this was quite a leap for a young woman in the early 1950’s and just shows her faith, fearless spirit and character.  When they arrived in Austria her friend Bernie got a loan from her Priest back in New York to buy a Volkswagen beetle, and they would travel around on weekends, skiing the alps or site seeing. 

While working for Army Intelligence in Austria, Mary was at an Officer’s club and spotted this young Army lieutenant from across the room.  And boy did he notice her.  They began talking and the Lieutenant asked her out.  Mary asked if he had a car and Lieutenant Bill Blakely said no.  Mary then replied that when he got a car, then they could talk some more.   

Well Bill got a car and the two of them began a conversation in love that lasted over 56 years.  Mary’s journey evolved from that of a single young woman to that of a devoted wife and mother.  No matter how close or far away Bill was posted from his family, Mary took charge of the home front raising two boys Bill and Tommy, and two girls Barbara and Tricia.  She experienced cold war Germany first hand and the Philippines when Bill was a military advisor in Vietnam. 

Bill said he was able to choose the Philippines for his family to be billeted.  This way he had a chance to fly over from Vietnam a few times a year to see his family during his multiple tours there.  Once in a while Mary flew to see him. She once even piloted a C-130 briefly, if you can believe that! After that they went back to Europe, to Germany and then finally back to the United States. The journey didn’t end there though, in fact, her travels were just beginning! Australia, Alaska, The Vatican, India and on and on. Even in her later years, after my father had passed, she travelled with her children, and even came to watch her youngest get married in Spain.

As my father gave gifts of personality to each of his children, so to did my Mother:

To Bill, the oldest son, she gave her deep abiding spiritual faith, and incredible capacity for kindness and love of others. This may be the toughest gift she gave to any of her children, simply because of the amount of daily work it requires.

 To Barbara, the oldest daughter, she gave her passion, intensity and fearless spirit. Mary was from Queens you see, a New Yorker’s New Yorker and fuhgeddaboudit. Toughness she had in spades. And she gave that toughness to Barbara, because she knew that she would need it. She did, and has, and will.

To Tricia, the youngest daughter, she gave her intelligence, her ability to focus and her work ethic. Mary was the Executive Secretary to the head of Exxon Advertising at the Ad Agency. She was the Secretary to the US Army G2 Intelligence Officer for all of Europe a military Moneypenny as from James Bond. She was also a homemaker, a military spouse, and a travel agent. She worked, and maintained a home and took care of her kids and passed that nearly superhuman ability and work ethic on to Tricia.

To Tommy (me), the youngest, she gave her wanderlust, her desire to see over the next horizon. Mary went to all the continents save possibly Antarctica. She went to warzones, and beautiful gardens, she saw multiple Popes, Kings and Queens. She saw the best and the worst and she loved all of God’s creation and passed that love on to me.

She gave each of us these gifts, because it was simply who she was, and we have become a part of her and she remains in us always.

There are many stories we can and should share about Mary.  In ways big and small she touched us all. She did so much for us that whatever we did to help her was repaying a debt of kindness that could never fully be repaid.  That idea ties into both her Catholic faith, and the core of who she was. Thankful always to God, faithful to her Husband, loving to her family.